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NEW ORLEANS – Cardale Jones was not happy. Late in the first half, Ohio State trailed Alabama. Having played their way into a two-touchdown deficit, the Buckeyes were trying to claw their way back out of it, and they were almost there. On second down from the Alabama 14, the play call came in from the sidelines.

“I was not a fan of it,” Jones said.

Why not?

“Because we don’t need no trick plays to beat these guys.”

Here’s the thing: The quarterback was right. The double-reverse pass produced a touchdown and a huge momentum swing just before halftime. But there was nothing tricky about the Buckeyes’ 42-35 victory over the Crimson Tide in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl.

They’ll meet Oregon on Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas, for the national championship because on Thursday night, they were faster and more physical than Alabama. They were better than “the best team in the world from the best conference in the history of the planet.” Those were Jones’ words, but after the victory, similar stuff poured from all corners of the celebration.

“I think they underestimated us, our speed and talent,” freshman receiver Jalin Marshall said. “I think we silenced a lot of doubters and critics about the Big Ten not being good enough for the SEC.”

What did Ohio State accomplish? Start with the Big Ten’s best day in a long while – Michigan State beat Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, while Wisconsin dropped Auburn in the Outback Bowl. Finish with the Buckeyes’ win, which only sets them up for more.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, standing at midfield during the trophy presentation, proclaimed: “It’s a great day for Big Ten football.”

For the first time in nine years, no SEC team will play for the national championship. And if we learned anything in bowl season, it was that the SEC West was crazy competitive, yes, which made for fantastic fun all season – but that didn’t mean all of those teams were better than a lot of other teams in other leagues.

In the cold light of bowl season, when SEC West teams finished 2-5, it became apparent that as the division’s bottom teams rose, its top teams slipped a notch. They met somewhere in the middle. It’s not that simple, of course; a couple of teams peaked early, and injuries altered the equation for others. In the bowl games, matchups and motivation play a role.

But when the SEC’s best team met the Buckeyes? Darron Lee, the freshman linebacker who was named the Sugar Bowl’s defensive MVP, might have summed it up in two tweets: “B1G” (a reference to the Big Ten). And: “RIP SEC.”